Article: Amazing amaryllis; This bulb shines for the holidays.(HOME & GARDEN)

It sounds like a flower that would grow in Whoville: From an onion-ugly bare bulb the size of a grapefruit shoots a striking, slender stem that grows beanstalk-quick to a height of 2 feet, then finishes in a ring of gigantic, trumpet-shaped flowers.

But it's not from Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" or any other work of fiction. It's an amaryllis. And while it's not as traditional as the holly and the ivy nor as prolific as the poinsettia, it is fast becoming the hot flower for the holidays.

Of course, the amaryllis is not exactly new. The tender bulb, which hails from South America, has been hybridized for hundreds of years, beginning with ...

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